Maintenance of accounts - Accounting, means to ensure that all the transactions and other accounting records are kept or recorded in accordance with the GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and any other applicable laws. Further to this the records must be in sufficient detail to allow an effective annual audit to be conducted.

Make or buy (outsource) decision – The determination whether to produce a component part internally or to buy it from an outside supplier. This decision involves both qualitative and quantitative factors. Qualitative considerations include product quality and the necessity for long-run business relationships with subcontractors. quantitative factors deal with cost.

Maker - 1. the producer of a specific product. Or 2. the person who is the signatory of a cheque/promissory note, which means they are the responsible individual for payment.

Management accounting- Accounts and reports are tailor made for the use of the managers and directors of a business (in any form they see fit - there are no rules) as opposed to financial accounting which are prepared for the Inland Revenue and any other parties not directly connected with the business. See cost accounting.

Management audit - The examination and appraisal of the efficiency and effectiveness of management in carrying out its activities.

Management control system - A strategic tool/plan for holding the specific managers accountable and also responsible for their individual performance. It aims to ensure that resources are obtained and used effectively and efficiently in the accomplishment of the organisation's goals.

Management decision cycle – This cycle involves five steps managers take in making decisions and following up on them. The five steps are: (1) the discovery of a problem or need; (2) alternative courses of action to solve the problem or meet the need are identified; (3) a complete analysis to determine the effects of each alternative on business operations is prepared; (4) with the supporting data, the decision maker chooses the best alternative; and (5) after the decision has been carried out, the accountant conducts a post decision review to see if the decision was correct or if other needs have arisen.

Marginal product (MP)- The change in quantity of total output that results from using one unit more of a variable factor. Mathematically, the rate of change of out­put with respect to the quantity of the variable factor. Also called incremental product or marginal product (MPP).

Marginal rate of substitution (MRS)- (1) In consumption, the slope of an indifference curve, showing how much more of one product must be provided to compensate for the giving up of one unit of another product if the level of satisfaction is to be held constant. (2) In production, the slope of an isoquant, showing how much more of one factor of production must be used to compensate for the use of one less unit of another factor of production if production is to be held constant.

Marginal revenue (MR) - The change in a firm's total revenue resulting from a change in its rate of sales by one unit. Mathematically, the rate of change of revenue with respect to output. Also called incremental revenue.

Marginal revenue product (of a factor) - The addition of revenue attributable to the last unit of a variable factor (MRP = MP x MR). Mathematically, the rate of change of revenue with respect to quantity of the variable factor.

Marginal social benefit - The total value of the benefit from one additional unit of consumption. This includes the benefit to the buyer and any indirect benefits to other members of society.

Margin of safety - The range of output between the break-even level and the current level of output, over which a profit is made.

Markdown - 1. reduction of the original selling price. It may be due to any of sev­eral reasons, such as a decline in overall prices of goods, excessive competition, special sale, damaged merchandise, or excess supply. In markdown cancellation, the markdown is partially offset at a subsequent date by increases in the prices of goods that had been marked down below the original selling price. Or 2. dealer markdowns in securities trading.

Market - An abstract concept concerning all the arrangements that individuals have for exchanging with one another.ie a place where goods and services are exchanged.

Market capitalisation - The value of determined by multiplying the share of shares in an issue. It is calculated by the multiplication of the number of shares multiplied by the current market price. Also known as “market cap”.

Market failure - Failure of the unregulated market system to achieve optimal allocative efficiency or social goals. A situation in which a market leads to either an under, or over allocation of resources to a specific economic activity.

Market orientation - An approach to business which places the requirements of consumers at the centre of the decision making process.

Market position - The strength (relative strength) of an firm or a particular product within a specific target market. investment, refers to the amount and/or breadth and depth of an individual holding within the identified sectors of the specific market.

Market positioning - The view consumers have about the quality, value for money and image of a product relative to those of its competitors.

Market power – Where a firm is said to be a price setter. Market power benefits the powerful at the expense of others. When firms have market power over prices, they can use this to raise prices and profits above the perfectly competitive level. Other things being equal, the firm will gain at the expense of the consumer. Similarly, if consumers or workers have market power, they can use this to their own benefit.

Market research - Finds out consumer wants before a product is developed and produced.

Market sector - The portion of an economy in which commodities are bought and sold and in which producers

Market segmentation - Breaking down a market into sub groups which share similar characteristics.

Market share - The proportion of total sales in a particular market for which one or more firms are responsible. It is usually expressed as a percentage.

Market structure – All features of a market that affect the behaviour and performance of firms in that market, such as the number and size of sellers, the extent of knowledge about one another's actions, the degree of freedom of entry, and the degree of product differentiation.

Market value - The price at which sellers and buyers trade items in the open marketplace.

Matching - Accounting, is the matching of purchases orders and the delivery notes to invoices prior to the payment being made.

Matching principle- A method of analysing the sales and expenses which make up those sales to a particular period (e.g.. if a builder sells a house then the builder will tie in all the raw materials and expenses incurred in building and selling the house to one period - usually in order to see how much profit was made).

Material - 1. raw material, direct or indirect. An example is steel to make a car. Usually accounted for separately by a debit to materials (stores control) and a credit to accounts payable or cash. When materials are transferred to work in process, Inventory is credited. Or 2. relatively important and significant in dollar amounts.

Material control - Refers to the particular department that is responsible for the control of any specified materials within the manufacturing environment of a firm.

Materials price variance (MPV) - Difference between what is paid fora given quantity of materials and what should have been paid, multiplied by the actual quantity of materials used.

Materiality - The importance of an event or other information that has an influence on a company's share price.

Materiality principle -Accountants should (GAAP) generally accepted accounting principles unless to do so would be to expensive and/or difficult, and further to this where it makes no real or material difference if the rules are not followed. If a rule is to be ignored, the principle states that the firms net income must not be in any way significantly affected. The principle also states the reader of the financial statements ability to judge the statements must not be impaired.

Materials - Is the physical items (cost of) used in the manufacture of other products. Under cost accounting these are often separated into direct material (that which goes directly into the item) and indirect material (that which is used in maintaining the manufacturing environment). Indirect materials are considered to bean overhead. The term material is mainly used to refer to the direct materials.

Matrix organisation - Where a firm superimposes a interdisciplinary team or group of project specialists on top of a functional organisational design.

Maturity date - Is the date at which a financial asset is converted into a money or other assets.

Median - The value within any set of data at which half of the observations are greater and half are less. Thus half of a population earns income above the median income, and half earns income below the median.

Median voter theorem - A mathematical result showing that if voters are choosing a point along a line and each voter wants the point closest to his most pre­ferred point, then majority rule will pick the most preferred point of the median voter.

Media plan - The plan that gives the details of how the media is to be used for a specific advertising campaign. This would include costs, the running dates, target markets, expected reach, how frequent, the rationales, and different strategies to be employed.

Merger - The purchase of either the physical assets or the controlling share of ownership of one firm by another. In a horizontal merger, both firms are in the same line of business; in a vertical merger, one firm is a supplier of the other; if the two are in unrelated industries, it is a conglomerate merger.

Merit good - Goods that are held to be desirable for consumers, but are underprovided by the market.

Message - The information or instructions being passed by the sender to the receiver.

Misappropriation - The non-violent but criminal taking of some property. It may Includes theft, embezzlement, and fraud. Often it is used to refer to an employee taking the property of their employer.

Miscellaneous expenses - Incidental expense of a business, not classified as manufacturing, selling, or general and administrative expenses. It is presented on an income statement after operating income. Miscellaneous expenses are immaterial.

Miscellaneous income - That income that a firm earns that is not directly related to the main operations of the firm from the sale of its products and services e.g. bank interest

Monetary union - The proposed replacement of the currencies of the EU member countries by a single EU currency, an arrangement which would require a European Central Bank to regulate the supply of the new European currency.

Monetary unit - The unit used to measure economic activity (e.g., U.S. $).

Monopolistic competition - 1. market structure of an in­dustry in which there are many firms and freedom of entry and exit but in which each firm has a product somewhat differentiated from the others, giving it some control over its price. Or 2. any industry in which more than one firm sells differentiated products.

Monopoly - A market structure where there is one firm who dominates the industry. In the UK a monopoly is defined as when a firm controls more than 25% of the market.

Mutual agency - The right of all the partners in a partnership to act as the agents for the partnerships normal business activities, with the authority to bind the partnership it to business agreements which have been entered into.